Until Death Do Us Part
by angelxdevilspawn
Summary: The war changed too much. Sasuke and Sakura, Naruto and Hinata are falling apart. And in the wake of this distance something forbidden brews. Sasuke/Naruto, Sakura/Kiba, Neji/Hinata, Gaara/Hinata, Neji/Gaara (MPreg)
1. Happily Ever After

They'd come such a long way from the place they used to call home; a place amidst lush wild forests that told stories of innocent aspirations and adolescent dreams; of flower garlands and fields; of lazy afternoons under tufts of the whitest clouds across blue skies; of friendships and promises made beside never ending rivers.

Nothing had changed, yet everything had.

They were the same buildings that once held their laughter; they now made way for a new generation of hope and ambition.

Sakura looked at the little 13 year olds eager to demonstrate their superior combat skills. She smiled softly as she remembered her days at the academy. On those very grounds she'd been teased and then befriended by a pretty blond girl, and then she had fallen in love and then been betrayed, she'd learnt the meaning of a team and she'd learnt how to let go. So much had happened since then. She lingered for a bit before making her way back home.

"Tadaima," she called out as she walked into her home. Her mansion, artfully carved with wooden doors, and windows adorned with ancestral tapestry that looked like war beaten soldiers who still held their honor. Rooms that were not too large not to small but regal in their bearing held a certain quality that spoke of long gone clansmen gatherings.

"Okaeri," was the soft reply. He was home today. Smiling softly she walked into the study, where she knew he'd be on his days off.

"No mission?" she asked before bending down to the seated man and kissing his cheek.

"hmmm….actually I have to sort out all the intel we've received on the past few missions," said the man not looking up as he intensely poured down on the papers before him.

Sakura plopped herself on the couch sighing in relief as she did so.

"Dinner?" he asked looking up at his exhausted wife, "I made some miso shiru and soba noodles"

Sakura's face brightened infinitely, "oh that would be great," but she made no move to get up.

He walked up to her and kissed her softly, looking at her intently, "I missed you."

She smiled, "I missed you too. Sometimes I wish you didn't have to go for missions and worked at the hospital like me," she said, standing up.

"I'm ANBU chief, Sakura, you know I can't do that," he said walking into the dining area

"I know Sasuke, I'm just saying I wish it weren't so sometimes…"

Sasuke held her gaze for a bit, not saying anything, before turning away making his way into the kitchen.

Sakura's eyes followed him. She loved him. After all these years she honestly still loved him. And as much of a shock as it had first been to her, she knew he loved her too. So why wasn't it enough?

They had their dinner seated at the foot high table on the floor and then went to bed, like they always did, every single day of the two years that they had been married.

The war had been a quick affair, twice as brutal as its predecessors, but over before anyone had the time to comprehend the absolute futility of war. It lasted all of three months, ending with an unprecedented camaraderie between the five countries. The Akatsuki were eliminated, the body of the legendary Uchiha Madara was incinerated so as to eliminate all possibilities of rebirth or resurrection known to mankind, and even then his lifeless ashes were preserved under high security in case of any unforeseen events that might occur in the future. Uchiha Sasuke had cleared the clan name by defeating his seemingly invincible uncle and pledging his allegiance to Konoha stating manipulation of information breeding misunderstanding as the cause of his misplaced hostility towards the country. He had since proved his indispensability to the nation and had been swiftly promoted to ANBU chief.

Life had become peaceful since. All the palpable tension that had existed during the brief impasse before the war had been resolved. That is not to say that there weren't boundaries or cultural differences between the nations, but they had significantly diminished.

With the war out of the way Shinobi across Konoha had to deal with a far more challenging task of their personal lives. A lot of them had felt the necessity to assert their existence and therefore had been married. A good number of them exercised their freedom in promiscuity. The rest had just been glad to get back to their old lives. And then there was Sasuke.

When Sasuke had returned Sakura hadn't known how to behave around him so she had chosen to avoid him instead. Amongst the three, Naruto and Sasuke had gone right back to what they had before Sasuke had chosen to defect. It was easy for them seeing as they fought alongside each other to defeat Madara. But Sasuke had last tried to stab her when they had met, so she just didn't know how to begin any sort of interaction with him. However, they were awkwardly placed one evening when the rest of their friends had abandoned them at Ichiraku's. Sasuke had broken the silence asking her if she still loved him. She's been thrown completely off kilter by the question and hadn't been able to give any answer at all at that point. He had then asked her to think about it and left her to mull over the chaos in her mind.

A few days later he'd cornered her once again and asked her the same question. She's thrown the question right back at him. After a moment of thought he'd answered that it didn't matter anyways because he'd always got what he wanted, and then he'd walked away. In the days to come he'd pursued Sakura incessantly until she conceded defeat and within months of their confession they were married in one of Konoha's biggest wedding ceremonies. Naruto had been best man, grinning like an idiot all though the proceedings.

Back then she had been ecstatic at being married to the love of her life. Now, however, while she lay in bed watching him fall asleep curled around her, she wondered if there was something more to life.

* * *

><p>"Ah, ouch, yah, Sakura chan, can't you be a bit gentler?"<p>

Sakura glared at the blond seated in front of her and added more pressure to the wound she was cleaning up.

"atatatat…that huuuurts!" whined the blond

"maybe you'll remember that next time you wanna run head long into an ambush, Naruto. Just coz you can heal fast does not mean you cant get hurt at all. I have better things to do that heal your cuts every time you go out on a mission just because you cant be more careful! You're ANBU captain now, grow up."

"atatatatat….ok ok Sakura chan I get it already now can you go easy on me!" Naruto grinned shamefacedly at Sakura.

Sakura tried to hide a smile. He got on her nerves all the time but the truth was that she adored the blond. Sometimes she wondered what it would have been like if she'd chosen him over Sasuke. While Sasuke was enigma personified, Naruto was like the spring breeze, fresh and innocent no matter how many years go by. With Naruto she always felt years younger, even if he was a little too childish for her sometimes. She healed his last gash and let him go.

Naruto watched Sakura leave the room. He still loved her. But strangely it didn't bother him that she was married to his best friend. May be he had come to terms with it?

"Naruto! You're back here!" an alarmed voice called out. Naruto turned to find a worried looking Hinata striding towards him. She examined him with a concerned from on her face.

"It's nothing, Hinata, Sakura's already healed me" Naruto scratched his head sheepishly, but Hinata's frown remained in place.

Naruto smiled softly. "Hinata, seriously, I'm fine" he said taking her face in his hands.

Hinata looked lake she was about to cry. "You never take care of yourself," she mumbled.

Naruto felt guilty for making her worry. She was such a gentle soul and he was such a brash boy. "I'm sorry, Hinata, I'll try to be careful next time," he said softly and her face lightened up immediately. He kissed her lightly on the lips and she blushed furiously.

"I-I h- have to go, I'm the medic on call today," Hinata said softly and Naruto let go of her. She gave him a small smile and left.

He couldn't help grinning at Hinata's shyness. It was one of the things that had drawn him to her. It had been a year since they were dating and she was still just as shy as she was back then. It was refreshing to be with a girl that innocent even after all this time. He'd gotten lucky with Hinata; that was for sure.

Wondering what he should do next he decided to pay a visit to the teme.

* * *

><p>"Oooooiiii, teme."<p>

Sasuke's eyebrow developed a tick as he heard Naruto's bellow from down the corridor. Even so, his mouth couldn't help make an upward twitch. He could hear Naruto lumber around other rooms looking for him.

"Here you are your holy temeness!"

Sasuke's tick just got bigger. Naruto walked into the study and plopped himself on the couch.

"so whatcha doin?"

Sasuke didn't bother replying and continued with this work.

"do you wanna go out? Maybe grab some lunch?" still no reply. That didn't bother Naruto though. He continued like he's just been having a long conversation with Sasuke.

"hmmm maybe I should go get it for the both of us," Naruto contemplated. "Or better yet maybe I should cook!" Naruto's face brightened with the brilliant idea.

At this point Sasuke just had to say something. He remembered the last time Naruto had decided to cook at their place. He's managed to set the curtains on fire somehow and Sasuke'd had to deal with an irate Sakura for a whole week.

"hn, dobe, can you not go annoy someone else every day?" he enquired choosing to acquiesce to Naruto's first request. Naruto grinned knowing he'd won. "Awww teme you know you can't live without me. You'd miss the Naruto lurvin too much." Sasuke snorted at the statement but followed him out of the house nonetheless.

It still amazed Sasuke how Naruto could literally absorb ramen like a sponge after all these years. He watched his best friend with mild disgust as he elegantly picked small portions of sushi and put it in his mouth. Well every cloud had a silver lining or in other words every Naruto would shut up while stuffing his face which meant Sasuke could eat his meal in peace.

Naruto patted his over full stomach as Sasuke paid for the both of them and they strolled down towards the river like always.

"che, you look like a pregnant chick," Sasuke commented as Naruto patted his tummy for the 5th time.

"yet you're the one pmsing," Naruto grinned, "well it's gonna be like this until I poop so deal with it."

Sasuke didn't bother giving any reaction.

"Speaking of babies, when are you planning to repopulate Konoha with widdle 'chiha babies," Naruto asked as they settled under a tree next to a river.

"Probably when you have the guts to ask Hinata to marry you, dobe," Sasuke replied easily.

"Ahhhh, that would take some time then," Naruto grinned sheepishly.

Sasuke frowned. He'd been thinking about it for a while as well. Sasuke had wanted to have kids as soon as he'd married Sakura. However, Sakura had pleaded with him for some time, especially considering her hectic timings at the hospital. Sasuke had grudgingly conceded. A year later they had begun to try but hadn't had any success. Sasuke had then had Tsunade check them up. She had told them that there was nothing wrong with them and that sometimes with shinobi this could happen. Especially with Sakura being used to taking anti pregnancy potions, once they stop, it might take her a while to conceive. It had been a year since then and Sasuke had begun to get impatient.

"I'm actually not sure I'll even ask her to marry me," Naruto's voice broke Sasuke out of his thoughts. Sasuke was actually mildly surprised at Naruto's proclamation. After all he had always known Naruto to be the kind to want to find a girl, fall in love and get married as soon as age would allow it.

"It's not that I don't love her. It's just…I don't know if it's enough," Naruto continued.

Sasuke couldn't claim to understand what Naruto meant by that. "What more do you want?"

Naruto sighed, "I don't know."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, giving him a look that clearly said 'AAHO'.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah well you have the perfect relationship with Sakura chan, so how would you know."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, annoyed, "it isn't about how perfect it is, dobe, every relationship needs to be worked on. Do you think everything just fell into place once I married Sakura? We had our differences and we had to work through it."

Naruto cocked his head a strange look flashing through his eyes as he stared at Sasuke. "Are you happy?" he asked softly.

"Che, of course I am, why wouldn't I be?" Sasuke was getting more impatient with this conversation. "We better head home. It's getting late and I still have reports to finish," he stated getting up.

Taking the cue, Naruto got up as well, "Yeah, I gotta meet Hinata too."

* * *

><p>Hinata walked out of the hospital looking at the time. It was 9.30. Ever since she'd been promoted to second in command after Sakura, she'd had full days of work. The administrative side of the hospital was something she'd not been sure she could handle, but she'd found herself managing quite nicely.<p>

She looked up to find Naruto leaning against a tree waiting for her. "Oh, Naruto you didn't have to come all the way to get me!" She gently reprimanded.

"Aww, Hinata chan it's getting late. You shouldn't be walking home all alone." Naruto stated

Hinata made an annoyed sound. She didn't like the fact that people still treated her like the fragile thirteen she had been when she'd thought she'd proved her abilities well enough during the war. Nevertheless she thought Naruto looking out for her like that was kind of endearing so she let it go.

They walked together in comfortable silence.

"Are they over working you at the hospital?" Naruto asked.

"Not really. Besides I like what I do. I feel I can really make a difference."

Naruto smiled at her softly, "you always make a difference Hinata chan, you're adorable that ways." He grinned cheekily at her and she blushed.

"Can we sit down for bit in the park? I'm a little worn out" Hinata asked with her big pleading eyes.

Naruto laughed a little, "yeah sure."

They sat down at the park bench and talked about the little mundane on-goings of their lives like lovers do.

"I made you something," Hinata said, pulling out a flat, rectangular wooden slab with signs engraved on it and a red thread tied to the top.

"It's a charm. It'll keep you from getting into trouble so often," she said looking away shyly.

"That's so sweet, thank you." Naruto gave his trademark goofy grin while scratching his head and taking the charm from her.

Their moment, however, was interrupted by the clearing of a throat. Looking up they found Neji standing next to them, looking away awkwardly.

"Erm, I'm sorry, but it's quite late and Hinata Sama should be getting back home." he declared.

"Oh sorry Neji nii san, I was just a bit tired so I asked Naruto if we could rest for a while." Hinata justified hastily.

"If you don't mind can we return now?" Neji asked stiffly.

Hinata threw a glance at Naruto, who got up too. "Neji's right, it is late Hinata. I'll see you tomorrow,ok?" Naruto said holding Hinata's face intimately. Both were oblivious to Neji stiffening further, next to them.

"Bye," Naruto said as he turned to leave.

"Naruto! The charm!" HInata reminded him of the charm he'd left on the bench.

"Aah! Sorry." He grinned, "What would I do without you Hinata chan." He winked at her and walked away.

Hinata smiled a bit and walked the opposite direction with Neji.

"He does not love you Hinata sama," Neji stated.

Hinata looked up a little startled both at his statement as well as the fact that Neji had actually commented on her personal life. Usually he felt himself far above such trivialties.

Neji continued to look ahead, "he will break your heart. It would be wise to break it off before you get hurt."

"Y. don't know a thing about our relationship," Hinata retaliated, nervous but stubborn.

"Hinata sama, you are kind and gentle hearted." Neji made yet another statement.

Hinata looked away, not sure how to take his statement.

"He cares about you. But he does not love you."

They walked into the Hyuuga home, a massive, palace like structure, formidable in the dark of the night. They stopped in front of the stairs, the point from where their paths separated.

"It is my job to protect you Hinata sama. In every way I can. And I intend to do so." With that declaration he turned to leave.

"Neji nii san….." Hinata stopped him before he climbed the stairs, "I…um…I m-made this charm….for you" she said utterly shyly looking down all the time while stealing glances at him. She handed him a charm similar to the one she'd given Naruto. "It is to protect you from danger."

Neji took the charm and looked at it long and hard, "charms do not protect you from danger Hinata sama, experience and skill do." With that he left a thoroughly disheartened Hinata and walked up to his room. He then took his ninja supply bag out and tied the charm securely to it.


	2. Boon and Burden

Sakura woke up to find Sasuke staring down at her intently.

"Geez Sasuke that's a little bit creepy you kn-," She was silenced immediately with a passionate kiss. Sakura loved Sasuke's kisses. They were always so strong, so reassuring. She felt the safest then; just lying in his arms, the two of them kissing.

Sasuke rolled on top of her, mildly resting on his knees, hands holding her waist firmly under her camisole and pulling forward to press against him. Sakura unconsciously spread her legs, wrapping them around his waist and pressing back. She let a moan out as she felt his hardening length between her legs. She could feel her own panties getting wet. He began to slowly grind into her as his mouth moved to the pulse on her neck. She moaned louder as she began to move with him. He tugged the camisole from above her left nipple and began to suck on it. Sakura gave a small scream and pushed her chest forward, her back arcing off the bed.

With speed and skill befitting the Uchiha name, Sasuke slipped off her panties and his boxers and pushed himself inside her. He grunted, trying to hold the groans and any other sound from escaping. She was holding him so tight. He continued to push into her, slowly at first, but gradually increasing speed. Sasuke loved to watch Sakura when she was thrashing with pleasure under him in this way. He pushed harder as her screams became louder and more incoherent. He could feel her building up with him. A few more thrusts and he buried himself deep inside her and came as her orgasm milked him.

Sasuke rolled off her and they lay in each other's arms, spent. They would have to get up for work soon so they savored the few moments they had with each other.

"Sakura, I think we should get ourselves checked again." Sasuke said softly.

Sakura stiffened in his arms.

"Sasuke these things take time," she replied, "It's only been a year."

Sasuke sat up frowning, "Only? Sakura it's been a year!"

"Sasuke being a kunoichi is stressful. It takes a lot more time for us," Sakura reason, getting up, herself.

Sasuke's voice hardened "How much time Sakura? It's been a couple of years and I'd like to have kids in the next couple."

Sakura turned towards him, eyes flashing with anger, "Is that all I am to you Sasuke? A baby making machine? It doesn't matter what the effect on my body is as long as I make little Uchiha babies"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "you know very well that's not what I meant Sakura."

Sakura looked away. "I need to get ready, I'm late for work."

Sakura made her way to the bathroom. She was going crazy. She really needed to handle this soon. It was really getting to her. She needed to let it out, and fast. She only hoped that she'd be able to solve this situation without much of a fuss.

* * *

><p>Ino looked at her wardrobe with disdain. She needed to go shopping. Turning jonin had its demerits. She just didn't have time for grooming, which was ironic considering most of her missions were s-rank seduction missions. Well, she had some free time in the coming few days so she'd just have to drag that pink haired best friend of hers for a much needed make over.<p>

The doorbell rang, just at that moment and Ino chuckled. "Think of the devil," she thought.

She opened the door, ready to give her an earful about not being in touch lately, but when she saw Sakura, she shut her mouth instantly.

Sakura looked haggard to say the least. It was as if she was carrying the world's burden on her shoulders.

"Hey! What's up with you?" Ino asked, frowning in concern as she let her in.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura was sitting on the couch, staring into her empty coffee mug, while Ino sat on the chair next to her, waiting impatiently for Sakura to open her mouth and spill the deal.

"Kami, Sakura if you're not going to say something soon enough I am going to torture you into revealing your deepest secrets."

"I'm still taking my contraceptive potion," Sakura almost whispered.

Ino looked confused, "okaaaay….and that's a problem because?"

Sakura glared at her, "Ino, my husband wants me to produce baby Uchihas and I've been telling him for the last couple of years that its takes some time for a Kunoichi to conceive after getting off the potion….I've been lying to him Ino!" Sakura completed, looking distraught.

This only increased Ino's confusion further. "But why?"

"'But why' what?" Sakura retorted irritably.

"Why would you take that potion, why would you not want to have babies and why would you lie to Sasuke? I thought you loved him," Ino said in one breath.

"Che, I do!" Sakura said standing up and beginning to pace. "I – I just don't know…..i don't know if I'm ready to take our relationship to that level yet."

Ino just stared at her, rather appalled, "Sakura, he's your husband. You're telling me that you don't know whether you want to have babies with him? Honey aren't you a little too late in realizing that?" Ino looked at Sakura like she was crazy. "Besides, I don't get it, before you were married to him you would have given an arm and a leg to be the one to let him have that joy."

"I know!...but what if….what if he stops loving me…..what if once he has the children he has no use for me anymore?" Sakura stopped pacing and looked at Ino with wounded eyes.

Ino now understood the situation, and honestly she didn't think she could blame Sakura. She knew Sasuke loved Sakura; very much so in fact. But whether or not Sasuke would show the same dedication after she had her child was indeed questionable. Sasuke was known to be unpredictable, and he was never known to show too much attachment to any individual, especially after Itachi's betrayal. While everybody was rather relieved when he began to show interest in Sakura, whether or not he was whole enough to give himself completely to another person, was questionable. He had, after all, been broken in ways that no other, she knew, had. The fact the Sakura had already been betrayed by him once before only made the situation that much more complicated. So she really had no answer to give Sakura.

"Don't you think he loves you enough?" Ino asked rather naively.

"I wish I could say yes, Ino," Sakura replied, looking miserable.

There was nothing more to say. Both sat silently, wondering about relationships and their fragility.

Finally, Ino decided they needed to get some air so they should have a girls' night out. Men were too much trouble as it is, so the women needed to show some solidarity towards each other. That was Ino's logic anyways. So she set to organizing one, with new found enthusiasm, determined to relieve some of her best friend's stress. It was the least she could do.

* * *

><p>By 8 that evening, Sakura, Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Temari were seated at the pub and setting priorities straight, ie getting smashed. They started out with shots and mindless chatter, but as time went by talks turned more private.<p>

By about 9 30, they were all bitching about their lives and the guys that just didn't understand.

By 11, they were on a happy high and decided to play a game; spin the bottle, with a twist. The game rules were as follows; the first chosen person would state their problem and the others would counter arguments or suggestions and whoever cannot defend their point of view has to take a shot and the winner got to spin the bottle.

After drawing lots it was decided that Ino be their first victim. Ino's problem; Shikamaru is just too troublesome (the irony).

"But you love him," was Tenten's retort.

Ino grimaced and took a shot.

Tenten then spun the bottle and it landed on Sakura.

"Have you tried just talking to Sasuke?" Tenten asked.

"Tenten he's been perfect in every way, in this relationship, how can I possibly ask more of him?"

Tenten had no answer so she took her shot. Sakura grinned triumphantly and spun the bottle. It stopped at Tenten.

"Okies Tenten, shoot, what's your problem number one," Ino asked.

"Lee's over enthusiastic,"

"oooooh Tenten you're getting some lurvin huh!" Ino stated suggestively.

"That's not it!" Tenten blushed.

"Oh that is sooo it!" Temari grinned devilishly, "Lee getting too hot for you to handle Tenten,"

Sakura laughed and Hinata blushed too as Ino and Temari chanted, "Drink, drink!" and Tenten was forced to do so.

Temari being the last to counter, spun the bottle that finally ended up pointing at Hinata. Hinata"s problem was that she was still too shy in front of Naruto.

"Hinata, he's you're boyfriend! He loves you for who you are. You have no need to be shy in front of him!" Sakura exclaimed.

"But I want, so much, to love him and do special things for him, but when you're standing there in front of the person you love, how can you be sure that he understands your love and devotion towards him?"

Sakura took her shot. Hinata spun and it landed on Temari. She claimed she didn't have a problem so Ino asked the question.

"Why don't you settle down, you know, find a guy, permanently?"

"Have you seen the state you guys are in?" Temari scoffed. Ino took her shot.

And it went on until the questions and answers stopped making sense. Somewhere in between all of that Temari disappeared with some random guy, Lee came to pick Tenten up and Hinata was left with two utterly drunk women.

When Hinata rang the bell to Ino's place she was a tad bit surprised but relieved to find Naruto opening the door. Chouji was there too so it seemed the guys were having guys night out of their own.

"Hinata!" Naruto was surprised to find his girlfriend standing at the door with two pretty drunk women who could barely seem to stand on their own. He immediately grabbed the two girls. Thankfully Shikamaru took Ino over soon enough so he only had to handle Sakura. He asked hinata if she'd be fine to go to his apartment on her own since it was only a couple of blocks away. She said she could so he tossed her his keys. Then he part walked and part carried Sakura back home.

"Naruto! Let's find another club. I wanna dance," Sakura said, trying to twirl. Naruto held her firmly. She was completely off the rocker at that moment.

"We will Sakura, just as soon as we get you sobered up a bit, k," Naruto baby talked her. It was one of the very rare occasions that he got to see Sakura so vulnerable and as much as she resembled a raving lunatic at that moment, couldn't help feeling something akin to endearment, towards the pink haried girl in his arms.

She tried to twirl some more, landing up in something of an embrace with Naruto.

Naruto could feel his heart thunder. She looked up with those big emerald eyes and asked Naruto, "Do you ever wonder what it would be like, if we ever got together?" in almost a whisper.

Naruto swallowed. Yes he thought about that sometimes. But he didn't think it was sensible to pursue this conversation. They'd stopped walking, Naruto noticed. He couldn't bring himself to tear away from her eyes, though. Sakura's gaze travelled to his lips. She began closing the distance. Naruto's heart sped up, but he turned away in the nick of time.

"Sakura," he whispered, softly.

"Naruto?" her voice wasn't that of affection but more child like. "I'm really sleepy." And with that she collapsed into Naruto's arms. He sighed and then lifted her bridal style and walked into the Uchiha compound.

Sasuke's face pretty much refected the same surprise as Naruto's had back at Shikamaru and Ino's place, but if you didn't know the Uchiha you'd barely have been able to catch it.

He took her from Naruto's arms immediately, the smell confirming that she'd only passed out drunk.

"Sakura, baby, I need you to wake up." Sasuke patted her on her cheek. He gently put her down on the couch as she groggily came to.

"Sakura, honey, you need to stay awake for me for a bit, ok. I'll get you some water. You can drink it and then I'll put you to bed, ok"

Sakura mumbled incoherently but nodded.

Naruto watched as Sasuke lovingly fed Sakura a glass of water, a knife going through his heart. He quickly mumbled his goodnight and left. As he walked home he wondered why it had torn him up so much and what business he had thinking of his best friend's wife


	3. Setsuna  A Moment

Sakura woke up to a splitting head ache. Her whole world spun as she lifted herself off the bed so she promptly flopped back. She moaned and groaned in pain wishing swift death would claim her. But ten minutes later she was still alive and awake so she had no choice but to drag herself off the bed and get ready for work.

Powerful arms caught her as she stumbled out of the bed.

"Looks like you had a fun night," Sasuke commented, barely suppressing his amusement. Sakura threw a glare at him.

"Here take these," he handed her a pill with a glass of water. She chugged it down. He smiled at her fondly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He, then, lightly kissed her on her cheek and turned to leave.

"I've got to deal with an interrogation today, I'll be late," he said while walking out.

"Sasuke!" Sakura called, wincing as her head throbbed. He turned to face her. She hesitated. She had decided last night that she would tell Sasuke the truth. And then she would make a true attempt at having a child. She loved Sasuke. She owed him that much.

"I'll be leaving today, for a week long mission," She said instead.

"A week," his annoyance was apparent. "I thought the hospital needed you?"

"I thought it would be good to take a mission for a change. I am a kunoichi after all," she replied not meeting his eye.

"Sakura, is this about the kids?" Sasuke asked quietly

"Sasuke everything does not have to be about the kids," she replied angrily, still not meeting his eye.

"Are you sure? Because every time we talk about having kids, Sakura, you dismiss it and then avoid me like a plague," he replied angrily, "if I didn't know better I'd say you're running away."

It had been a long time coming; this pressure, the uncertainty, and to top it off the hangover. She flipped.

"Oh my god Sasuke, is that all you can talk about? Is that all your life revolves around?" she yelled angrily, "you had two goals, you settled one so all that is left is baby Uchihas. Did you just marry me so you can have kids? Do you really love me?" She rounded on him, teary eyes staring accusingly at him.

Sasuke stared back, open mouth with shock. "How can you say that?" he whispered softly, "How can you even-…..where is all this coming from?"

Sakura looked away, tears rolling down her eyes, "Maybe us was a mistake Sasuke, maybe we need some time apart," she said unblinkingly.

She turned back just in time to see him walk out of the room. She crumbled to the floor and lay there weeping.

* * *

><p>"What?" the blond yelled, temporarily deafening the raven. If Sasuke hadn't been so down in the dumps he'd have smacked the dobe upside the head.<p>

"But whyyyyyy?" Naruto asked, still utterly flabbergasted at the news he'd heard.

"I don't know Dobe!" Sasuke hissed. He now wondered what possessed him to go drinking with his blonde friend. Oh right his 2-year old lawfully wedded wife suggested that they break up. He took another swig of his drink.

"What did you do?" Naruto asked with narrowed eyes.

"Thanks I feel so much better!" Sasuke replied sarcastically

"Well you had to have done something! I know Sakura chan would never just want to leave you otherwise. She loves you too much."

"Are you sure you're not still in love with my wife?" Sasuke retorted unthinkingly and took a swig again. He missed the flash if guilt in Naruto's eyes.

"I-I-I'm just saying she has to have had some reason Teme! You just don't know how to get it out of her. Just wait till she comes back. I'm gonna talk to her and set this right!" Naruto vowed and then downed his drink.

* * *

><p>Sasuke hoped he was right. He didn't know what he'd do if they truly broke up.<p>

"Baa chan, what do you need me for?" Tsunade immediately developed a tick as Naruto entered her office with a casual grin on his face.

"Stop yelling so early in the morning brat, or I'll assign you to D rank mission for the next week."

"It's not my fault you're hung over, it's yours," he replied cheekily.

Not wishing to get into a pointless argument with him and knowing threats were always lost on the brat she got straight to the point.

"I need you to go on a mission. It's a simple message delivery, but the message is important so I've tasked it as a B rank. You need to take this scroll to Sakura. She and her team left last evening so it will take you a while to get to them. They're on their way to Iwa." She'd expected an angry outburst; she'd not expected a grin too bright for the sun. "What's with all the enthusiasm? Do you intend to blind me?" she asked.

"It's perfect Baa chan, I needed to clarify something else with Sakura urgently as well!" Naruto whooped.

"Fine fine, take the scroll and go brat, before you give me a splitting headache," She said throwing him the scroll.

"Don't you already have one?" he retorted wagging his tongue at her. He skipped out of the room before she could throw something else at him. "An ANBU captain and yet some things never changed," she thought suppressing a smile.

* * *

><p>Naruto ran through the forest as fast as he could. The sooner he caught up with them the sooner he'd be able to clear this silly misunderstanding between Sakura and Sasuke and the sooner he'd get home. He hated delivery missions. They almost always lacked excitement. But he knew he was nearly there. He could feel the lingering chakra of his friend and her team.<p>

It was beginning to get dark, he needed to find them before the light was totally lost. He did not want to waste yet another night. With a burst of chakra he increased his speed. He pushed his chakra out trying to feel for a trace of his friend. What he felt next had his heart pounding like a hammer. He could feel a sudden spike in Sakura's chakra and….was that Kiba? With increased speed he moved towards the direction of the chakra, hoping that they hadn't run into trouble.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw. Pinned against a tree was Sakura, her skirt bunched up around her waist, legs and arms wrapped tightly around none other than Inuzuka Kiba, who was busy kissing the life out of his best friend's wife as he thrust into her.

Shock faded to betrayal and then anger. He wanted to go and tear them apart. He wanted to beat the ever loving shit out of the dog nin. He wanted ask Sakura why and how long. But he didn't. He turned away and looked for the rest of their team. In a clearing nearby he found Yamato sensei setting up a fire with a couple of other chuunin. He delivered the scroll to them and promptly left against Yamato sensei's suggestion to stay the night. He didn't want to stay. He couldn't face them. He vaguely wondered why it was that sometimes the ones guilty of the crime were not as embarrassed as the ones not guilty of it.

He created a kage bunshin and left him to keep watch for the night as he caught a few hours of sleep. As soon as the first rays of light hit the sky. He was up and on his way to Konoha. He had much too much time to think on what he saw and what he should do about it.

He didn't understand it. His two best friends loved each other very much. How could she do this to Sasuke? Why would she do this to Sasuke? And for Kiba? He was one of those who'd chosen to revalidate his existence by taking as many partners as he could. The human version of peeing on every post he could find. So this thing, whatever it was, couldn't possibly be serious. So why would she put her marriage in jeopardy for a fling?

He needed answers and he'd make sure he got them. But for now the most pressing question was if he should tell Sasuke. He didn't want to be the one to break the news to him and see him fall apart in front of his eyes. No he couldn't do that. He couldn't let him know. Sasuke had lost too much in life and it was just not fair for him to have to go through this. So Naruto would make sure that he'd sort it out before things got out of hand, he decided. He'd get his two friends back together no matter what the cost.

However, as he approached the gates of Konoha, his nervousness grew. He'd have to face Sasuke sooner or later and he'd have to tell him what Sakura had said, which was a problem since he'd never had the talk with her in the first place. So he delayed the meeting and, after a shower and a change of clothes, went to the hospital to meet Hinata instead. He always found talking to Hinata very comforting. Everything made sense when he was with her. He smiled at the thought as he waited outside for her.

Hinata seemed a little preoccupied when she walked out of the hospital. She almost jumped a foot in the air when Naruto called out to her.

"Naruto," her surprise was evident.

"Yeah, I just returned from the mission so I thought I'd walk you home?"

"S-sure," she replied. Naruto frowned. She seemed a little different today.

"Is there something wrong Hinata?" he asked

"O-oh no, no-nothing," she replied smiling sweetly. "How was your mission."

Naruto looked uneasy for a few seconds, "actually I wanted to talk to you about that," he said.

And as they walked down the road he told her the whole story, not sparing any detail, except for the graphic image of Sakura and Kiba that was now burned into his retina of course.

"What do I do Hinata? What do I tell him?... god if she was over him then why didn't she just have the decency to just tell him? Why cheat on him?" Naruto said exasperatedly.

"Naruto,I think we should break up."Hinata cut him off. They had come to a halt in front of the Hyuuga compound. A light breeze whistled through the silence of the night.

"What?" he said in disbelief. He could feel his heart thump in his chest.

"I- I think we shouldn't be seeing each other anymore," she repeated, looking down. More silence.

"Why? Is it something I did?" he asked softly. He was having difficulty wrapping his mind around what was being said.

"NO-…no you're perfect.." She said looking up. She had tears in her eyes.

"Then why?" Naruto asked, eyes pleading for an explanation, "did something happen? Is there someone else?"

The expression on her face as he uttered "someone else" said it all. Naruto was stunned.

"I'm sorry," she whispered despairingly, as tears streamed down her face, and she ran into the Hyuuga compound.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was changing out of his ANBU gear when Naruto barged in and threw himself face first onto the bed. He was used to his best friend making himself comfortable in his house so he didn't bother. He continued changing and setting his equipment in order.<p>

But when the silence stretched Sasuke began to get concerned. Was this about Sakura, he wondered.

"What's up, Dobe? Jutsu burn your tongue o-?"

His voice died when he saw the look on Naruto's face.

"Sakura?" Sasuke asked, with a sense of foreboding.

"Hinata dumped me,"

That was…..unexpected, Sasuke thought.

"Why? She's crazy about you," he asked, a little puzzled.

Naruto planted his face back into the sheet and a mumbled a 'someone else'

"Someone else?" he parroted, taken aback, "who?"

"Don't know," came the muffled reply.

Sasuke sighed heavily as he watched the immobile lump on his bed. This warranted for some serious pain killers.

"Come on Dobe," he whacked Naruto's ass with a pillow, "We're going drinking."

* * *

><p>Naruto was drunk, he wasn't ashamed to admit. He was D-R-U-N-K.<p>

"Drink up Sasuke! It's the best medicine I tell you! It solves all problems!" Naruto screamed as he rocked to the music while nursing his drink.

"How does it solve the problem of being dumped by our girls, dobe?" Sasuke retorted.

"Look around, Sasuke, we're at a bar." Naruto gestured grandly. "And what does a bar have? Fish! Plenty of bigger fish!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, amused by his antics none the less. He was just glad Naruto was having fun. And maybe he was a bit drunk himself, Sasuke admitted grudgingly.

"Aww, Sasuke want some lurvin?" Naruto made kissy faces at him and he had a hard time maintaining his poker face. Ok so maybe he was more than a little drunk.

"The fish in this dish not good enough for you?" Naruto said with a pout in the same affected voice.

Sasuke almost gagged, "I don't swim in that pool dobe," he said barely able to contain his amusement.

"hmmmmmmm," Naruto though aloud. Then he snapped his fingers, "I can fix that,"

And in an instant a blonde girl with a single pig tail tied high, clad in knee high boots, a very short skirt and a tight sleeveless shirt stood in front of Sasuke.

"An oiroke again, grow up Naruto," Sasuke groaned in exasperation as Naruto began to mock seductively sway to the music. For the umpteenth time that night Sasuke thanked the lords that they were seated at a very private corner of the pub.

"Come on Sa-su-ke, dance with me," Naruto rolled her tongue seductively.

Sasuke downed his drink and filled his glass with more sake. He was not drunk enough for this.

"Come on Sasuke! Don't be a spoilt sport!" Naruto yelled.

And before Sasuke knew it Naruto had straddled him, arms around his neck.

"Get off, dobe," Sasuke commanded.

"What Sasuke getting nervous? Sasuke want a lap dance?" he asked grinning cheekily, as he moved around on his lap.

Sasuke was getting seriously annoyed now. Drunk or not there was only so much liberty he would grant another and Naruto had crossed the line about five minutes ago. He was about to shove off the blond roughly when all thoughts came to a grinding halt with Naruto's next move. He kissed him.

There are times in life when a single moment wrapped in the pound of a heart beat changes its course forever. This was such a moment.

They immediately pulled away as if they'd been burned.

It was just a chaste lip to lip kiss. It shouldn't have sent such a sharp spark through his body. He'd just meant to tease Sasuke, to annoy him. He's been annoyed at Sasuke's refusal to loosen up. It was meant as a joke. But as Naruto locked his eyes with Sasuke, he knew he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. He couldn't look away. He felt himself shiver at the raw lust clouding obsidian eyes. He'd never seen them like that, directed at him or otherwise. And now all that ran in his head was, "Shit."

Sasuke stared into cerulean eyes. He was sold. He'd never felt such a raging lust thrum through his bode before. And he was hooked. An utter desperation to explore this new found feeling gripped him; and he found his hand wandering over the soft tan skin presented to him.

He watched those blue eyes as he ran his hands up the curve of her waist, gripping firmly and pulling her closer. He saw pink lips part with breathlessness as they went lower, onto her bare thighs, and under her skirt. He watched as a whimper fell through those lips when he squeezed the twin globes of her butt cheeks; all the time keeping eye contact; never breaking the connection. She clutched on the front of his shirt, as if it would help her keep it together. He looked down and almost groaned at the sight of pert nipples pushing through the fabric of the shirt.

Unable to resist the temptation, he bent forward and nipped one. A gasp made him look up. The sight that met him was devastating. Impossible blue eyes, wide with surprise and wonder, stared at him screaming of naivety, almost pleading, but not sure for what. He growled and swooped down to suck on the nipple, harshly, through the fabric. This time she let out a moan. He gave the same treatment to the other nipple, stroking roughly with this tongue, biting, nipping, sucking, as soft fingers ran through his hair gripping them.

He pulled away to look at her again, both a little worse for wear. He held her gaze once more as one hand held her hip in place and the other strayed down, under her skirt and in between her legs. He let out a groan, still staring into blue, as he felt how wet she was.

Naruto couldn't believe what was happening. She knew they shouldn't be doing this, but she felt impossibly alive and too powerless to break the spell. She watched the hungry, almost animalistic look in her best friend's eyes as his finger pushed into her folds and onto that nub. She couldn't hold it any longer.

"Aaaah.." she let out a cry.

It fueled Sasuke's lust. He stroked gently, watching the array of expressions flashing through her face as she whimpered and moaned. She let out a keening sound as he pushed a finger into her, deep, up to his knuckles. He barely suppressed a moan as he felt how soft and wet she was. He pulled out and pushed a second finger in. She let out a soft cry of pain. She was a virgin, he realized, with a little shock. Pleasure and an animalistic possessiveness coursed through his veins, prompting him to claim her, make her eternally his. He forced his fingers with a rough thrust through her barrier as she threw back her head and cried out in pain. He began thrusting into her as cries of pain turned into those of pleasure. She began to push down on the fingers, moving her hips in rhythm.

Sasuke groaned loudly as he felt the wet heat wrap tightly around his fingers with the impending orgasm.

"Ahhh, ahhhh…uhm….ah…sa- mmm,"

"Say it," Sasuke growled thrusting into her, "say my name"

"Aaah…..Sa…Sasuke!" she moaned.

"Sas….please….ple….uhm…aahhh,"

He thrust more viciously into her as pink rivulets ran down his fingers. The walls were clamping down on him, hugging them and pulling them in with a powerful force, deeper into the cavern. He curled his fingers and thrust harder into her, all the time watching her as he pushed her over the brink. Hot spasms gripped his fingers as she came powerfully. She threw a hand over her mouth and bit it to muffle her screams, drawing blood in the process.


	4. The Forbidden Fruit

He looked into her sated eyes. It wasn't enough. With quick reflexes he held her as he stood up, her legs snugly wrapped around his waist, and walked deeper into the secluded corner before setting her down on the table.

Had he forgotten that this wasn't some random girl he just met? This was his best friend. A boy. None of that seemed to be penetrating Sasuke's lust clouded mind. He has never felt such a heady euphoria and he never wanted it to end. It was wild, uncontrolled and fearless. And so he didn't think.

He pushed her down onto the table and ripped her panties off her, her gasp only fueling his lust.

Naruto was too much in shock to realise what was going on. What he had done. Who he was with. And so he was swept by the tide of lust. A lust that was his, hers, theirs.

Sasuke pushed her legs apart, exposing her wide to him. He locked his eyes on those cristal blue eyes as she held her breath, and lowered his head to her heated core and swiftly pushed his tongue in without warning, then dragged it tantalizingly slowly up to her nub, around which he wrapped his lips and began to gently suck. He repeated the whole process again and again slowly increasing the pressure and adding a few stinging nips and sucks until he was just sucking her whole core, hard.

Naruto orgasmed once again.

Sasuke was not satisfied. He pulled her off the table and pinned her against the wall, kissing her deeply, getting more drunk by the second, barely noting the resistance. But the push got stronger and he was forced to search himself to look into those piecing eyes looking distraught as her soft features dissolve, giving way to hard lines, smooth curves to rippling muscles, until the girl disappeared and all that was left was Naruto. A boy. His best friend.

It should have ended then, thought Sasuke. The lust definitely did. Had it ended there, the night could very well have been dismissed as a drunken mistake by the both of them and nothing would have changed. But as Sasuke's gaze fell upon Naruto's panicked eyes, traced those three scars across his cheeks and settled into his lips a simple innocent emotion flirted through his chest. Affection. And this simple feeling ran deeper and darker into forbidden territories of his heart that he understood nothing at that moment. Unaware of the consequences of his action he lifted a hand and gently cupped the cheek in front of him before sinking his fingers into his hair and pulling the head forward.

In that slow moment as Sasuke softly kissed the lips of his best friend, their lives were forever altered. It was a childlike kiss when compared to the ravenous ones they had shared a few moments ago. Sasuke pulled away a few moments later to look into those oh so familiar eyes as they fell to his lips and leaned forward for another kiss. Soft light delicate pecks turned into lingering ones followed by gentle nips and tugs. Neither of them knew who moaned, maybe the both of them. Their kiss soon turned sensuous ans then frenzied as Sasuke's tongue snaked into Naruto's mouth coaxing his out. Hands began to wander, Naruto tugging at the front of Sasuke's shirt hard enough for the buttons to give way. He detached his mouth from Saauke's only long enough to pull open the shirt before latching onto his neck, biting a little hard as Sasuke hissed, and then sucking at it softly. Sasuke's hands by then had managed to pull Naruto's t-shirt free from his pants and was running his hand on the smooth back under the tee. Naruto moaned deeply as one hand moved to stroke his abdomen before slowly dipping into his pants.

He detached himself once more from Sasuke and held his wandering hand. "Upstairs. There are rooms," he whispered huskily into Sasuke's ear.

They barely had the sense to straighten up a bit before heading to the counter and then heading upstairs.

Once in the room, clothes were discarded and they tumbled into bed mid passionate kiss. They couldn't get enough of each other. In his wildest dreams Naruto has never thought that he'd be intimate with a guy let alone bottom for him. But at this point as Sasuke used lube to stretch him, a look of concern in his eyes and raw emotion in his eyes as he eased into Naruto, he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

Naruto bit his lip at the pain of being stretched apart by something so big. "Hey, look at he," Sasuke turned Naruto's face to him as he opened his eyes, "Relax, it'll get better." Sasuke held his eyes as he drove into him slow and deep, leaning forward to capture Naruto's lips into a kiss. And right then, wrapped in Sasuke's arms, looking into his eyes as he made love to Naruto, for that was the only thing he could describe this slow painful exquisite torture as, Naruto understood that he hadnt actually known love at all. With Sakura, with Hinata. They wouldn't even hold a candle to the flame that he was in right now. A tear was wiped off his face by a caressing hand as he looked into those midnight eyes and they reached their climax, feeling, for the first time, utter and completely consumed by the love of another.

And as Naruto woke up to and empty bed the next morning he also understood that there would be nothing like the crushing pain he would feel through life knowing that he could never have Sasuke, for, yes, Naruto realised now, that he had always been in love with Sasuke and would always be in love with him.


	5. Bitten

He was trapped. His arms and legs nailed to the floor. Furious red clouds stormed angrily around him as he felt excruciating pain. Red mist brutally ripped out of his abdomen. The Kyuubi….Kurama howled. Bleeding red eyes of the beast stared at him. The beast grew until he was enormous. A baby wailed as he heard a piercing scream from a woman. He was the baby. Red hair fanned out under the woman who had her head thrown back, floating in mid air. He wailed in anguish with outstretched arms, trying to grab onto her, but no matter how much he stretched he couldn't touch her. She drifted farther and farther away until she disappeared, leaving the gut wrenching wails behind.

Naruto woke up with a start, drenched in sweat, shaking. Anguish filled his whole being at the memory, and for the first time in his life, curled up in his bed as the curtains of the window above his bed billowed in the night breeze, letting in streaks of moonlight that illuminated his form, Naruto cried for want of his mother. For the maternal womb he could sob into. For those arms to encircle him and tell him everything would be alright. He'd never felt such a feeling of utter loss before.

* * *

><p>"So what you're saying is that you don't care what rank mission it is, even a D rank mission as long as it gets you out of the village?" Tsunade looked at the state of the boy in front of her. Puffy dark rings under tired eyes that had dulled to the color of pale sky, the once sturdy frame now drooping and unsteady. She looked in shock at the boy she'd come to look at as her own grandchild.<p>

"Yes." Naruto had not been faring well since _that_ night. The night he gained and lost everything. Naruto was not one to give up on anything. He would fight to get what he wanted, he always had. Because he knew that nothing would ever be given to him freely. He had always had to work to be acknowledged and then befriended. He'd fought hard to bring Sasuke back to the village. But this was one time he couldn't fight because it would be wrong. Sasuke was married and he loved his wife. Naruto was the third wheel. That was certainly made clear by Sasuke who had lost no time in leaving the village for a mission after _that_ night.

But that was two weeks ago and Naruto could feel the strain now. He wanted so badly to see Sasuke, to talk to him, to touch him, to hold him. And he was afraid of these over powering desires. So he needed to get away before Sasuke came back.

"Tsunade Sam-a," Sakura entered the Hokage's room and hesitated as she noticed Naruto sitting at the table. Tsunade didn't miss the stiffness in Naruto's posture at her entry. She also noted that Naruto didn't turn around to greet Sakura, or even acknowledge her for that matter. Furthermore, she noted the dark circles around Sakura's eyes. Something was going on and she didn't like the conclusion her mind was supplying her with. Tsunade had known that despite Sakura's marriage to Sasuke, Naruto still hadn't been able to let go of the torch he held for her all of these years. She had also seen Sakura's "enthusiasm" for lack of a better word, for Sasuke diminish after their wedding. Attributing it to the novelty of being with Sasuke finally having worn out, Tsunade hadn't thought much of it, but every once in a while she couldn't help but wonder if Sakura ever regretted her decision of jumping too soon into a relationship with Sasuke, of never having given Naruto a chance. Now, noticing their awkwardness around each other; adding to it, the fact that Sasuke was conveniently out of town, and she was beginning to see things she didn't want to. But Naruto was with Hinata, and he would never cheat on her. Cheat on anyone for that matter. So she tried to convince herself. It was after all the better alternative.

"I'll come back later," Sakura excused herself and left, shutting the door behind her but leaving behind the tension she'd created when she entered.

Naruto was a wreck. He knew of Sakura's betrayal, but somehow, what he'd done seemed a hundred times worse to him. He needed to get out, fast.

Before he could voice out his plea, however, they were interrupted by a scream outside the door.

"Sakura!" Shizune ran to the girl who'd collapsed outside the Hokage's door. The door burst open and Tsunade walked out, Naruto in tow.

Tsunade watched as, with a cry of alarm, Naruto launched forward and bent down to cradle Sakura's unconscious form. Shizune called for a stretcher and asked someone to call Sasuke.

"He's out on a mission!" Naruto replied frantically.

"No he's back, he's on his way down the corridor, to report to the Hokage," someone, one of the staff, yelled.

Naruto froze. A couple of them picked Sakura up and out of Naruto's arms. He barely registered the change. He couldn't be here. He couldn't see Sasuke now, not in this situation. While everyone was busy placing Sakura on a more comfortable platform Naruto quietly slipped out.

* * *

><p>By the time Naruto had stopped running he'd reached the park near the academy. He found himself moving to sit on the old swing. The one he used to swing on through his academy days. As it swung back and forth like the ticking of a clock, Naruto remembered the little boy who was shunned, hated, discarded. The little boy who tried to hard to get people to see him, it hurt. When had he become this person who ran away from those who freely loved and accepted him? He was disgusted with himself.<p>

As he got up to walk away, he didn't notice another lone figure, equally distraught, equally disgusted with themselves, walk past him.

They both walked down their own paths, pausing to look up at the dark, cloudy, foreboding sky. A storm lurked in the vicinity, and when it hit, it would probably uproot a lot of lives.

* * *

><p>Naruto made his way up the steps of his apartment, with each step, his legs getting heavier, like there were rocks tied to them, until they collapsed under him. He had a strange sense of floating and then sharp pain, and then everything went blank.<p>

* * *

><p>Tsunade was getting too old for her job, she thought. She'd not had so many shocks in her life as she had in the past twenty four hours and she hoped to god that it ended here because she didn't think she could handle any more. Infact, shocked didn't even begin to cover what Tsunade felt at the moment. Never in her very long life, had she ever come across such a situation. And never had she been at a loss for words as she did now. She had three patients under her care, all three of them, high profile shinobi, few of her finest, all three of their lives impossibly intertwined, and all three of them in the very same situation. One had passed out outside her office, the other, outside their home, and the third had simply walked into her office last evening, a complete wreck, and outright confessed her situation to her. She didn't even want to begin delving into the first two cases. Not only had she been proved utterly wrong about her assumptions of the day before, the reports in front of her insinuated a situation far worse that she'd imagined. As much of a shock as it had been to discover the truth, though there was still a fair amount of speculation on her part, she was quiet confident she understood the situation quite clearly now. And she hated to admit that it should not have come as a surprise to anyone who knew the parties involved. Just the way in which this situation had decided to unravel, however, was what was devastating.<p>

She had no idea how she was going to break this news to Naruto.

So she decided to deal with the easier situation first, which was laughable because this situation, while better than the other two, could possibly evoke the worst possible reaction in the shinobi world.

A soft knock interrupted her thought. It was time.

"Come in."

"Ohayo Gozaimasu Tsunade Sama, you asked to see me?"

Tsunade's face hardened, "Yes Neji, please have a seat. There is something I need to discuss with you."

Neji, ever the polite, respectful well bred shinobi, gracefully took a seat opposite the Hokage.

"Hinata's pregnant." The effect was instantaneous. Tsunade looked at the man sitting across her with cold hard eyes as he turned white as a sheet. "And you're the father."


End file.
